Abstract:
Background: It is widely recognized that the incidence of allergic diseases is on the rise globally Allergies in the population have impact on the quality of life by interfering with the daily activities, sleep disturbances, relationship problems etc. Increasing frequency of allergic diseases in the world are huge burden on economy. Identifying the prevalence and characteristics of allergies among medical students would provide constructive information and implementation of preventive measures. Materials and Methods: This study is descriptive cross sectional study and was conducted among 289 students, (both male and female) of MBBS with equal participation from first year to final year students. Participants were selected using systematic randomized methods. The data was collected from February 2017 to June 2017 through questionnaire based on the manifestations of the Allergic symptoms. The frequencies were calculated and data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results: Out of 289 students, 59% (n=171) have allergic symptoms while 41% (n=118) 118 (41%) have not any allergic symptoms. Among those, 120 (70%) students have a positive family history. Dust is the most common triggering factor in 50.29% of the students. The frequency of nasal, eye, skin and throat symptoms are 78%, 70%, and 49% respectively. Conclusion: Government should take steps to control dust in the environment by continuous monitoring of air quality across the major industrial and urban areas. Health education regarding environmental pollution is required at individual and collective level to tackle the menace of air pollution.
Page(s):
42-44
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Journal of Rawalpindi Medical College, Volume: 23, Issue: S1, Year: 2019
Keywords:
dust
,
asthma
,
air pollution
,
allergic symptoms